Spencer Reid's Death
by melancholywaste
Summary: Spencer is shot and pronounced dead, only to be revived shortly after. Now fighting for his life, he continuously proves doctors’ predictions wrong. This follows his recovery and how Spencer handles life after the incident. My very first fic, go easy on me:)
1. death

It was a warm Monday morning when Spencer Reid awoke to his alarm clock blaring. He groggily opened his eyes to check the time. It was late. He was late. Reid practically jumped out of his bed and ran around his apartment to get ready for work.

Meanwhile, at the BAU the rest of the team had already begun their work. Garcia was the first to notice Reid's lateness.

"Has anyone seen Reid yet?" She asked with a slight annoyance in her voice. Everyone shook their head no.

"He's usually never this late." Said Prentiss.

"Well, maybe he's sick?" Garcia replied, only to be interrupted by Hotch walking into the office looking quite irritated.

"We got a new case. This one is different, be warned." He motioned for everyone to follow him. As they all sat in their regular seats Hotch was already rambling about the case.

"In Illinois, we have a family of 5 dead. All killed execution-style. Gunshots directly to the forehead. Lacerations were found on everyone's wrists and ankles meaning they've been tied. No evidence of sexual assault, or any beatings. The Unsub left no evidence behind, the scene is spotless. No fingerprints, no footprints nor witnesses. Instead, he left spray paintings around the scene of smiley faces." "This is going to be a difficult case" Sighed Morgan. Everyone prepared for a long, hard day.

That's when Reid finally ran into the door, coffee in hand.

"Sorry I was late guys, I slept in." Reid sat down and begun to look over the files of this case. He could feel everybody watching him, but couldn't bear to look up. The silence broke when Hotch went on about the case.

Not long after they finished up and prepared to pack for the jet ride, Morgan walked up behind Reid with a hand on his shoulder. "Who was the special girl?" Morgan chuckled.

"No one, I simply overslept, why does it matter?" Reid replied, slightly annoyed. Why does everyone have to assume he found a one night stand? "Just trying to keep an eye out for my pretty boy. Making sure no pretty girl is breaking your pretty heart." Morgan said, laughing. JJ was trying to be discreet about it, but you could tell she was trying not to laugh. Reid took a big sigh and began packing his items together.

On the jet, the team is noticeably tired and trying to catch up on sleep except for Reid. He was reading a book as always, but this time he would catch himself drifting off into space every few minutes. He couldn't stop worrying about his mom. He was up all night worrying. Worrying was something Reid did a bunch. No one really could tell, though. Sure, they're profilers and all so they must be able to tell when something is wrong with their youngest team member. Except Reid is different, he's become very good at hiding his emotions. Especially when he doesn't want people to notice. He knows if people start to worry about him, he'll never hear the end of it.

Once the team arrived at the crime scene, it was already 3 in the afternoon. No one wanted to be here, but it was their job. This case specifically was hard for JJ considering the fact one of the victims was a kid just around Henry's age. She never was good at handling cases with children. It was a sensitive spot for her. The team assessed the crime scene and already had a few leads on their Unsub. They suspected he was at one of 3 addresses that Garcia provided them. Hotch ordered the team to split up, as each address was at least an hour out. Morgan and Reid were partnered, JJ and Prentiss, Rossi and Hotch. The team raced to each location.

Rossi and Hotch arrived at their given address first. They had come to the conclusion this would be the Unsub's house where he grew up. Meaning he either is currently living here or someone who knows him is. Knocking on the door, Rossi yelled: "FBI, Open up!" No response. Hotch walked around the house looking for evidence someone was home. Nothing. The house almost seemed abandoned other than the TV that was turned on in the living space.

JJ and Prentiss were next to reach their destination. By talking to the victim's neighbors, friends & family the team found out the family has a violent stalker. An ex of the wife. Typical, they figured. After looking up where the unsub is employed, they went out there to ask questions.

Finally, Morgan and Reid arrived at what they believed was the Unsub's current address. Morgan got out of the car along with Reid and stood in front of the house. The house looked as if it belonged to a homeless person. This was judging by the outside only. Morgan crossed his arms in slight disgust. "I can smell the filth from here." Scoffed Reid. Morgan agreed. As much as they weren't looking forward to their possible findings, they knew they had to search anyways. Reid knocked on the front door. The door swung open almost instantly, greeting them was a male in his late 40's, clean-cut and was visibly underweight. This fits the unsub's description. Morgan flashes his badge at the man, introducing himself. Explaining the reason for their visit you could tell the man was growing nervous. Sweat was dripping from his forehead, he was shaking and fidgety. As Morgan began to ask the man questions, Reid notices something right in the corner of his eye. Behind the man, maybe 20 feet away, was a child who looked maybe 4 years old. There were handcuffs on the child and a gag in his mouth. Reid put his hand on his gun and gripped it tightly. He knew something was about to go down. It seemed as if Morgan caught a glimpse of the child, too. He was reaching for his handcuffs slowly. This was without a doubt, their unsub.

The unsub must have caught on, as he reached behind his back and grabbed ahold of an object. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. Reid was pulling out his gun, Morgan was ready to pull his out as well. But the unsub had already pulled his pistol out and aimed it directly at Reid. He knew what was coming, there was no avoiding this. Reid closed his eyes tightly and heard two loud BOOMS! Gunshots. Reid opened his eyes to see the unsub laying on the floor, with a bullet wound to his head. Morgan was already calling for backup. "Suspect down, I need an ambulance and immediate backup!" He knelt down to the unsub and checked for a pulse. He realized he was gone. Turning around, he noticed Reid was laying on the ground. The damages weren't visible just yet. "Reid! Are you hurt?" "No, I'm fine I think. What happened?" Reid tried to stand but loses balance the second he gains it. He suddenly feels this burning pain in his chest. It didn't hurt too much, he wasn't concerned at first. But he looked down. His shirt was soaking in blood already. His hands were covered. He looked up at Morgan, who was already looking at him. Reid is realizing what's happening, but his vision is going blurry. His hearing was muffled. He felt weak and very tired. As if bricks were tied to his eyelids. And before he knew it, everything was dark.

"REID! Wake up Reid, can you hear me?! Damn it, I need an ambulance right now!" Morgan yelled. "Stay with me, kid. You have to stay with me!" Reid was pale, limp and was hardly breathing.

Hotch and Rossi tried to get Morgan to reply but was unsuccessful. "Morgan, what happened? Are you hurt?" No response. "Agent Morgan!" Still no response. They looked at each other and ran back to the SUV. Hotch floored it.

JJ and Prentiss tried to get a response but was also unsuccessful. They already were back in their car with sirens on, flying through traffic not knowing the severity of the situation. "It's always Morgan and Reid, why do we always pair them together?!" Sighed JJ. Prentiss looked at JJ with a worried look. "They're just a bad luck magnet. Try calling again."

The ambulance was first to arrive at the scene but had hardly stepped foot out when the team got there. They only saw Morgan leaning over Reid, holding his head with one hand and another applying pressure to his chest.

"Oh my god, what happened?!" Yelled JJ. "Is Reid alright? Morgan, what happened? Are you hurt?!" Prentiss yelled, almost in tears. The paramedics had taken it from here and Morgan backed away. His hands and shirt were covered in Spencer's blood. "Morgan? Morgan, respond to me!" Rossi pleaded. He couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. His best friend had just been shot right in front of him. He couldn't even save him. "I thought I could shoot him before he could shoot Reid..." Morgan couldn't help but just stare at the paramedics surround Reid.

The paramedics lift Reid onto a stretcher as he lay still. "He's going into shock, BP is dropping!" Shouted a paramedic. "Single GSW to the chest, possible collapsed lung, no exit wound is visible. The patient is in need of immediate endotracheal intubation!" The team could only hear so much as he was being rushed into the ambulance. Morgan without hesitation goes in the ambulance with Reid. The rest of the team watches as more officers arrive upon the scene, clearing them to go to the hospital to tend to their injured friend. And that's exactly what they do.

Hotch is visibly upset, no matter how hard he tries to hide it you would be able to spot it from a mile away. Rossi is in disbelief, why is it always Reid? Prentiss is trying to comfort JJ but JJ can't seem to get a grip on reality.

In the ambulance, Morgan can only watch as the condition of his friend worsens. Suddenly without warning, the noise of a flatline on the monitor can be heard. Morgan's heart drops. He can't help but start to tear up. Everything starts getting fuzzy. Morgan is starting to space out without even realizing it. "Starting CPR!"

Finally, the ambulance arrives at the hospital. Reid is taken out from the ambulance while the paramedics are still doing CPR. "We need an OR now!" Shouts a nurse. Morgan tries to follow but is stopped by a doctor. "Sir, you aren't allowed to come past here. We are doing as much as we can for your friend, please wait here. We're bringing him into surgery now." Morgan didn't even get a chance to speak before the doctor ran off to the OR.

Around 5 minutes after, the team arrives all at once. They're rushed into the waiting room only to see Morgan sitting, covering his face with his hands.

"Morgan, where is he?" Asked Prentiss.

"They took him back not too long ago, I don't know how long he'll be in surgery for." Morgan says with a monotone voice.

"What happened in the ambulance?" Hotch asks with worry in his voice.

"They lost him, they started CPR but nothing was happening for a solid minute. Then we got here, and now he's in surgery."

"They LOST him? What do you mean by lost Morgan?!" Yelled JJ.

"Lost as in gone. No pulse."

Everyone gasped at that moment. They needed to sit down. It was like they'd been punched in the gut.

It wasn't long after when the doctor walked into the waiting room. "Reid family?" He asks. Everyone stands with hope in their eyes. The look on the doctor's face was one all too familiar. They knew what was coming. The doctor took off his bloody gloves, looks at the floor and then back at the team. "Spencer arrived with no pulse. CPR was started, with no response. Spencer was declared dead upon arrival. We tried everything we could do. I'm so sorry for your los-" The doctor was cut off by Morgan picking up a plastic chair and throwing it across the room before walking out of the hospital. JJ began to sob uncontrollably into Rossi's arms. Rossi could do nothing but hug JJ with disbelief. Hotch sat down and sighed. "He was too young." Prentiss sits beside Hotch, unable to speak. She was practically hyperventilating. This didn't feel real. None of this could be possible! Why is this happening now? Reid never deserved any of this.

When Garcia was told the news, no response was given. She just hung up the phone. Garcia walked right out of her office and straight to her car. She sat in it and cranked it. She couldn't start driving, just couldn't bring herself to it. Instead, she just sobbed.

Is this really it? Is this the end of Spencer Reid?


	2. reborn

The white light was almost blinding. It was as if he was staring directly into the sun. He brings his hand up to the sky, covering the bright light. It was almost relaxing, a feeling he couldn't describe. Spencer becomes aware of his surroundings, not remembering anything. A faint voice could be heard, but he wasn't able to tell which direction it was coming from.

"Starting CPR!"

He made out those two words. "What happened? Did I get hurt- am I dying?" He thinks to himself. The white light was becoming brighter, and more intense. Suddenly, everything starts coming back to him. The gunshots, Morgan holding him, the sirens of the ambulance. No, this couldn't be happening! It wasn't supposed to be like this, not so soon anyway. It's almost like something is pulling him further into the light, but his will to go back to the real world was stronger. Before he knows it, everything is dark again.

Except for this time, he can hear what's happening. The sound of the flatline, and then the sound of familiar beeps. "Page Doctor Vincent! We've got him back!" A female voice said.

Back in the waiting room, filled with depressing vibes a voice is heard over the intercom. "Dr. Vincent to OR 2"

"Excuse me." He said as he walks away. He hates delivering the news of a death. It's never easy, no matter how many times he does it. Walking back into the OR, he notices Spencer's heart monitor. "How is that possible? He was in cardiac arrest!" Doctor Vincent yells as he's prepping to begin surgery. "The defibrillator must have worked, I've never seen this happen before!" Shouted a nurse. "Prepping for chest tube placement!" A nurse suggests to let the family know. "I should go tell them, they need to know." But was cut off. "No- even if we successfully remove the air inside his lungs, there is some extensive damage to worry about. We can't get their hopes up only to be let down again."

No one knows what to do now. Who's going to contact Spencer's mom? How are they going to let his family and friends know?

An hour after receiving the news, the team went back to the crime scene. The forensic photographers already had finished, leaving the forensic cleaning crew to begin their job.

Hotch was the first to break the awkward silence.

"What happened to everybody else in the house?"

"Children were being held, starved & tortured. A total of 13 kids. They've been taken to be identified and evaluated. Most of them can't remember their own names." Said Rossi.

"They must have been held here for a long time to forget their names." Hotch spoke with slight annoyance in his voice. He was upset. He should have been there to save Spencer. What kind of supervisor is he? Not a very good one, evidently.

Most of everyone was beginning to wallow in their self-pity. Then, the phone rang. Hotch recognized it as the hospital's number. Why could they be calling him now? Shouldn't Spencer be in the morgue by now?

"Hotchner speaking." Everyone looked at him. JJ still had tears in her eyes, she couldn't help but cry. The team could notice Hotch's expression change. He brings the phone down from his ear, looking at everyone.

"What is it?" Asked Prentiss.

Hotch couldn't believe what he was hearing. Is this a cruel joke? There's no possible way...

"Spencer's alive." Hotch said with disbelief, voice shaking.

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter, I'm not too confident in my writing. Should I continue? Thanks in advance:))


	3. survival

"What do you mean he's alive, Hotch? He was pronounced dead!" Shouted Morgan.

"I don't know. The hospital just called me. They didn't give me a lot of information other than he's alive and we need to get down there." Hotch says as he sprints to the SUV, signaling everyone to come along.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Dr. Vincent is about halfway through the surgery process. He successfully removed the bullet and removed the air from inside of Spencer's lungs. He checked for internal bleeding, which by a miracle was avoided. Spencer was moved to the ICU after the emergency surgery. Now it's a waiting game of if/when he wakes.

The team arrives at the hospital within 10 minutes after the phone call. They sit to wait for Dr. Vincent. When Dr. Vincent walks up to them, everyone stands. They're all visibly nervous.

"Doctor, what happened? You pronounced him dead earlier!" Said JJ.

"He was. Not for long, though. We think a delayed reaction from the defibrillator restarted his heart. I was able to remove the bullet without any issues. I ordered a CT scan to check for further damages we didn't catch. Spencer is currently in the ICU, we're waiting for him to wake. You can come to see him now if you'd like."

Everyone nods. JJ is almost shaking, just from complete disbelief. Thank God no one called Spencer's mom yet, that'd be difficult to explain. When they finally get to the ICU, they are just now informed that only one person is allowed in the room with him. Morgan suggests he goes first.

The first thing Morgan sees is the tube sticking down Reid's throat. So many wires are attached to his body, he's almost unrecognizable. "Why is he on a ventilator?"

"Spencer is currently unable to breathe by himself. He's in a coma. See, when he went into cardiac arrest his brain was cut from oxygen. It was deprived of oxygen for a solid 4 minutes or less. Cerebral anoxia is our main concern. The next few days are critical."

"When will he wake up?" Morgan asked, looking at Reid. He didn't even look alive.

"Only time can tell." Dr. Vincent then leaves the room to give Morgan some privacy.

Morgan pulls a chair close to Reid's bed, hardly able to process all this information at once. "I'm so sorry, kid. It should've been me. I messed up and you're suffering the consequences I should have gotten." He grabs Reid's hand, careful not to move the IV in his hand. The room is almost completely silent, other than the machine noises. It's depressing, he couldn't help but feel so horrible but so grateful at the same time. Spencer was revived. What if something happens like this again if he wakes up? The team barely goes a day without witnessing or experiencing a near-death experience. Either there really is a God, or Spencer got incredibly lucky.

Outside of the ICU stood the rest of the team, impatiently waiting to see their little genius. Everyone hears the familiar sound of high heels on the floor. Turning around, Garcia is almost sprinting to everyone. She's holding maybe 3 crumpled tissues in her hand, wiping away her tears with her other hand. Prentiss is the first to give her a hug, and then everyone else. They all know how she can get when something happens to one of them. Sniffling, Garcia pulls something out of her bag.

"I brought some Jello, maybe when he wakes up he'll want it?" Garcia says with the obvious distress in her voice. She's still holding back tears. They all giggle a little. For the first time all day, actually. Morgan walks out, giving Garcia the big hug she really needed.

"We aren't sure when he'll wake babygirl." Looking back at everyone, he repeats everything the doctor told him.

"So you mean he has brain damage?!" Says JJ, almost shouting.

"They don't know. No one will be able to tell until he wakes up."

Hotch rubs the temples of his forehead, sighing. Everyone knows this is going to be a long, long road of recovery. But they also know how they'll be with Reid every step of the way.

The first night in the ICU was the hardest. Prentiss wanted to be the one to stay the night. She slept on an uncomfortable couch not far from Reid's bed. She hardly could stay asleep, nurses were checking in every hour. Around 3 in the morning though, she was woken up by a nurse once again. This time though, the nurse was doing something to Spencer. Prentiss stood up to get a better view of what she was doing and saw a small white tube pushed into Spencer's nostril.

"Why are you putting a feeding tube in him? He didn't need one earlier." She asked.

"His body needs nutrition. He can't eat while he's in a coma." The nurse replied.

God, Prentiss hated seeing him like this. Completely helpless. Everyone feels like they should be doing something, but there is nothing they can do. Though she is upset, she is grateful that the team isn't burying him right now. How could the BAU function without Reid?

The following morning, Prentiss is awoken by the familar sounds of the machines surrounding the young man, keeping him alive. Other than that, the room was dead silent. Leaving Emily with nothing but her thoughts. What if he never wakes up? But if he does wake, will he remember any of us, his own name, or how to walk? She's been around cases with a victim being in the same conditon that Reid is currently in without any issues. She'd learned to block out certain emotions when it comes to her work life. But this is different. This time, it's her own friend. Someone she's become very close to in just a short amount of time.

Prentiss was about to drive herself crazy with these horrible thoughts, so she leaft the room and headed towards the exit. She hated leaving Reid alone, but then again she can always call someone to sit there with him. Emily just couldn't take seeing Spencer like that. Not knowing if in the future, the team will be mourning his loss rather than celebrating his recovery.

Meanwhile back at the BAU, Morgan was drowning in his guilt. Though this isn't his fault, he felt as if he could've done so much more. Hotch walked up to Morgan, putting his hand on Morgans shoulder.

"He's going to be okay, Morgan. There's nothing we can do as of right now, so there is no use dwelling on it." Hotch reassured Morgan.

"I know. Or at least I hope. He's in really bad condition, Hotch."

"He's going to get through it. Spencer is tough. Come on, we need to finish this paperwork."

Hotch walked away leaving Morgan to stand there and just think. To think about his own best friend laying in a hospital bed, with tubes down his throat and needles in his arm. There must be something he can do.

"Get out of it, Derek!" He whispered to himself, shaking his head. Now is time to snap back into reality and let the doctors do their thing.

* * *

Ahh I'm so sorry I've been gone so long but I'm back now I promise:)) Thanks so much for the reviews, they truly warm my heart!


	4. renewed

It had been 48 hours since Spencer was shot. 48 hours of total agony, and not just for Spencer. The team had work to do, but knowing one of their own was down is a feeling that just can't be described. Diana wanted nothing more but to see her son, but with her mental conditions it was determined she was in no shape to make any medical decisions for him. Diana was convinced spies were holding Spencer hostage at gunpoint, no matter how much Garcia tried convincing her otherwise. Talking to Diana is the equivalent of talking to a toddler that never stops asking questions, so understandably Garcia was exhausted. Truthfully, everyone is. It had only been two days without Reid but felt like two months. They needed their friend.

Meanwhile, at the hospital with Reid was JJ. She and Morgan were the ones who stayed next to him the most. It was around 12:35 PM when JJ's attention was drawn from her book to the rapid beeping of a monitor.

"What the hell?" She thought to herself. As she glanced at Reid's bed in front of her, she recognized he was seizing.

"Oh my god, I need some help in here!" JJ yelled as loud as she could. Immediately afterward, a team of nurses burst through the door and called for help.

"Get the doctor in here, now!" The tone in the nurses' voice was almost scary. It only took a second before another nurse ran to find a doctor.

Nurse McBride had laid Reid down from a half-sitting position to laying down flat. "Inject 5mg of Diazepam. Make sure he doesn't rip his IV out, someone grab his arms." JJ was being escorted out from the room while she was watching helplessly.

JJ was almost hit by the doctor as he ran through the door of Reid's room. They had injected medicine into his IV and watched as everyone tried their best to hold their patient down to prevent anything from being pulled out. It wasn't long until Reid's body stopped to a still. "Oh, thank God," JJ whispered to herself, relieved. Her hand was placed over her heart and took a few deep breaths. It's over now.

JJ pulled out her phone from her pocket and dialed Garcia.

"How is he?" Garcia greeted.

"Not good. But he's alive, and that's all that matters. It looks like he just had a small seizure but has calmed down now."

You could hear the fear in JJ's voice, but right now all she could do was put her trust in the doctors.

"Oh, no. My poor baby. He is alright now though, right?"

"Yes. For now. I don't think he's doing too well, to be honest with you. I hate to admit it, but he's really in horrible shape, Garcia. What if he wakes not knowing his own name, or can't remember any of our faces? That's even if he ever wakes!"

"No. Calm down. You need to stay calm for Spence right now. He needs all of us. Promise me you'll stay strong."

"Garcia-"

"Promise me!" She snapped.

"I promise."

"Good. I have to go, but keep the updates coming. It's nearly impossible to work knowing one of my babies is hurt."

"Will do." JJ replied. She also couldn't stand the sight of seeing Spence in a condition like this. She quickly picked the phone up again, dialing Will to come and sit with her.

One week later

Diana had finally come to terms with the fact aliens hadn't taken her son. It only took seeing him in a hospital bed, attached to machines helping him breathe to convince her. Which of course, didn't really help her case. But it's certainly better than believing aliens are holding her son hostage at gunpoint.

Since then, Diana has been by her son as much as the hospital would allow her. With the occasional visit from his friends, of course. Back at the BAU, the team tried their best to continue working while being down a member. They prepared themselves to accept this may become their new normal, but still kept hope.

During Spencer's stay at the hospital, he remained in a coma-like state and suffered from a few seizures again. Seizures are never a good thing, but his last few ones have gone away on their own in less than 3 minutes, which is a good sign. Slowly, but surely. There still wasn't much anyone could do, though other than closely monitor Spencer and wait for him to wake. Right now, Morgan stood by his side. Morgan enjoyed visiting his friend, but no matter how hard he tried he was unable to ignore the constant loud sounds of the hospital machines beeping. That is until he heard an odd noise. It sounded like gagging almost. Gagging? Morgan turned his attention to Spencer and noticed he was making a face of distress (still unconscious, though) and was choking on his own breathing tube.

"What the hell?" He grabbed the remote and rapidly hit the call button. It didn't take long for a nurse to enter the room.

"What's going on here?" She asks.

"I don't know, it almost seems like he's choking. What does this mean? It's good, right?"

The nurse smiled softly. "Yes, it's good. He's reacting to his tube. It means he's waking up."

She began putting on her gloves and grabbed a small light to look into his pupils.

"Spencer, I'm Nurse Abbott. You've been in an accident. You've been unconscious for a little over a week now. If you can hear or understand me, give us any sign."

Both Nurse Abbott and Morgan noted that Spencer slightly twitched his hands.

"You're doing great! Try not to talk, you currently have a breathing tube in your throat. You're going to feel some slight discomfort for a second. Try to not think about it. You have a friend beside you who's been patiently waiting for you to wake up." Nurse Abbott quickly unstrapped and pulled out his breathing tube. "Good! That wasn't so hard, was it now?" She jokingly said. Spencer went into a violent coughing fit, unable to catch his breath.

"Try to take a few deep breaths, kid," Morgan told Reid after noticing his oxygen levels dropped to the 60's. Spencer slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. What first caught his attention was how bright the room is, almost blindingly white. Quickly he shut his eyes again, the brightness was too sensitive for his eyes.

"Hey now, open up. There's no way you're tired, you've been sleeping for a whole week!" Morgan chuckled. It was so difficult to open his eyes again, though he wanted to. It wasn't long until he succumbed to sleep.

"Damn. This is still good though. They're not going to believe this, I have to call my team. Excuse me." Morgan walked by Spencer's nurse as she closely monitored Spencer's heart monitor.

A ringing cell broke the silence in Garcia's office. She smiled at her phone as she recognized the number calling her.

"Hey, babygirl. Are you sitting down right now?" Morgan spoke.

"Well hello to you, too!" Garcia replied, almost laughing.

"No, seriously. Are you sitting down?"

"I am. Why?"

"Well, I thought I should call to let you know something very important happened today."

Garcia wasn't sure if she should be excited or worried.

"What's that, my love?"

"Our boy genius opened his eyes for a second today."

Garcia almost jumped out from her chair at the news. A little squeal escaped her mouth.

"Oh, my God! Really? Is he awake right now? Can I speak to him? How is he?"

"Calm down, babygirl. It didn't last for long, he's sleeping right now." Morgan glanced back to Reid, smiling. "He had his breathing tube removed a few minutes ago."

"Should we come down there? I still have his Jello!"

"I mean, you can. But I doubt anything will happen. He didn't even say a word when he woke up. As I said, he's sleeping still."

"Great! We'll see you soon!" Garcia quickly hung up the phone and sprinted out her door, grabbing her bag.

* * *

TBC

NOTE;

I'm so so sorry I keep disappearing :( I've been going through a really tough time mentally and kind of isolated myself for a few months. I was recently moved to a new antidepressant though which seems to be working! But, you don't wanna hear about that. Anyways, I pinky promise to stay updated. I wasn't intending on continuing this story, after re-reading it multiple times I surprised myself with my writing. (in a bad way) I thought it'd be easier to kill him and abandon this story but where would the fun be in that?

Thank you for reading! I'll see you guys soon with a new chapter:)


	5. unknown

It was a Wednesday evening when Garcia, JJ Will arrived at the hospital, waiting to visit their youngest team member. They were the only three who had time to visit Spencer since everyone else was busy doing their own thing. They knew this was good news to be visiting for, Spencer possibly waking up. But they couldn't help just to feel anxious. Could Spencer have brain damage? Will he ever be the same again? They could only hope and pray for positive answers.

Moved from the ICU and into recovery, Reid's condition hasn't changed yet. He has yet to wake up, but the doctors are grateful he is able to breathe on his own now. It's a small step towards recovery, and everyone can't help but feel excitement upon hearing the news.

Not many people were allowed to cram in the recovery room at once, so JJ Garcia were the first to see him. JJ couldn't help but notice Reid's physical appearance improved dramatically from the last time she saw him. The bags under his eyes weren't as sunken in, he gained a little weight and wasn't nearly as pale. All they need now is for him to open his eyes.

"I hope he's going to make a full recovery." JJ almost whispered.

"Oh, honey, he will. He's going to go back to reading hundreds of books on a weekly basis really soon, I promise." Garcia tried to comfort JJ, but not knowing who she was really trying to convince.

They were soon interrupted by a nurse coming to check Spencer's vital signs. "Sorry to interrupt, I won't be here long." The nurse said with a genuine smile on her face. She carefully removed the oxygen mask from his face, and checked his temperature. She seemed displeased with the result, a very small fever of 99.9 degrees. It was something to keep an eye on, but not to worry about unless it reached over 102.3 degrees.

"What is it?" Garcia asked the nurse, slight worry in her voice.

"Nothing to worry about, just a small spike in his fever. Do you need guys anything, a water or snacks?"

They all shook their head no and thanked her with a smile. After the nurse left, JJ broke the silence.

"I'm just worried he won't wake up."

"I know you are, baby." Garcia replies. "But he's improving, you know this. Breathing on his own is a big step towards recovery."

Will didn't say much. He was there for his wife and only for that purpose. Nothing against Spencer, he just wanted to show JJ that he was there for her.

Almost half an hour later, they were leaving the hospital as they had strict visiting hours for the recovery patients. JJ Garcia wished to stay longer, they hated leaving Spencer alone in the care of complete strangers. They had to trust the staff and their work.

A few days had passed, and it was almost the weekend. Of course, the team never didn't work on weekends but they had a lot more free time due to not as many cases being reported to them. That left Morgan right back at the hospital visiting his best friend, waiting for him to awake. Morgan did this every other day when he had a chance. He loved that kid, and truly has shown it in the past few weeks. He occasionally would bring books to read to him, as funny as it sounded he genuinely believed Spencer could hear him and hoped it would help wake him. It wasn't until early one morning while Morgan was watching the TV, that he noticed Spencer moving. Moving? Is he seeing things? No, definitely not. This was for sure Spencer.

"Hey! I need a doc in here, someone." Morgan raised his voice but didn't yell. A nurse peeked her head in to see what's wrong.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," Morgan replied. "Not at all. I just.. I think he's waking up."

The nurse gave him a quick smile. "I'll grab someone for you."

Morgan looked back towards Spencer and noticed his furrowed brow and what looked like his eyes moving under his lids.

With a chuckle, Morgan started patting Reid's shoulder. "Morning, sleeping beauty." He didn't expect to get a response, but was greeted with a pained moan.

"Someone deciding to come to?" Asked the doctor, announcing his entrance.

"Look. His eyes."

The doc grabbed his penlight and shined a light in Spencer's eye, lifting his eyelid.

Spencer's eyes tried to focus to the light, but tried squinting when it became too much.

Retracting the light, his doctor smiled. "Glad you decided to be with us today, Spencer. Can you tell me how you're feeling?"

With no response, Spencer reopened his eyes and slowly began to remember in bits and pieces of the incident that happened a few weeks prior. The child. The ambulance. The voices speaking either about or to him.

"Do you remember anything, Spencer? Like, where you are?"

A concentrated look showed on Reid's face, and after 5 seconds he just shook his head "no". Reid wanted to talk, to use his voice after not being conscious for so long. His throat told him otherwise. God, it was so sore. He would do anything for some water. Almost as if someone read his mind, some water in a styrofoam cup was placed in front of him. "You must be thirsty, drink this slowly." Morgan adds.

"Morgan?" He spoke for the first time, in a raspy voice.

"Yeah kid, it's me." Morgan replied with a smile, gesturing towards the cup of water. Reid tried to lift his arm, but was caught off guard by how difficult it was. It felt as if some weights were tied to his arms and legs, making him use twice the effort to reach towards the water he desperately wanted. Before he could even take a sip, a unexpected twitch in his arm caused him to spill water all over himself. "Oh, god. I-I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, accidents happen." Morgan stepped in.

"I'll grab you a different gown and some towels and when I come back, we can check on your wound again." The doctor spoke, then left.

Wound? What wound? Reid thought to himself. He tries to push himself up to a sitting position, but was interrupted by the hot pain in his lower left rib area.

"Kid, lay back down. Your body has been through a lot. Don't expect to be running a mile just yet."

"What exactly happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not everything.. I-I just remember the unsub, the children and being i-in an ambulance." Reid almost started to hyperventilate remembering certain parts.

"Calm down, calm down. You're gonna pass out by getting yourself worked up like that."

Morgan couldn't help but notice Reid was stuttering his I's. He made a mental note of it, but hoped it was only because he had just woken from a coma, and nothing permanent.

"Sorry, don't feel good."

"I know, kid. Do you want me to call everyone up here to see you? I'm sure they'll be super excited, but if you're not up to it I'm sure they'll understand."

"The team?" Reid replied with genuine confusion.

"You know, Emily, Hotch, JJ, Garcia and Rossi?" Morgan expressed concern as Reid was visibly confused trying to remember his second family.

The names were familiar to him, except he just couldn't put faces to names. He's heard these names before, but for the life of him just could not remember their faces.

"Who?" Reid looked up towards Morgan, with unintentional puppy eyes.

Oh, no. This couldn't be good.

"Doctor?" Morgan turned around to see Reid's doctor with a new gown and blankets in his hands. "Can I talk to you outside?" Reid gave them a concerned look, not understanding why they'd need to talk outside of the room. 'What did I do?' Reid thought to himself.

After the doctor cleaned the little spill and checked Spencer's stitches, he stepped outside with Morgan.

"Whats going on with him?" Morgan asked.

"You're going to have to be more specific than that."

"He isn't remembering the rest of his family. I said their names, but he acted like it was the first time he'd ever heard it."

Memory loss. Difficulty in speech. The random jerks his body gives. This could mean many things, but all the signs were pointing to a brain injury.

-To be continued.-


End file.
